Various types and forms of the Group Communication Skills Training are used all over the world for those who are trying to improve their communication (social, interpersonal, negotiating etc.) skills. Thousands of books and articles devoted to these topics are published every year. The training scheme based on the holistic Social Pedagogical Concept developed by the Prussian educational thinker Friedrich Diesterweg in the middle of the 19th century and on the Technology of Instruction Theory created by the Russian psychologist Piotr Galperin in the middle of the 20th century and developed by their followers is widely spread in Europe and used by social workers and psychologists for children and for adults to improve their communication skills. The following article describes practical implementation of this schema.

The concept of transforming personal behavior from impulsive to reflexive level forms the basis of active social psychological education. It is accomplished through objectifying and assimilating to a wider spectrum of daily life models, patterns and communication

Communication

Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

. As soon as a person realizes the inconsistencies that his everyday impulsive social behavior

Social behavior

In physics, physiology and sociology, social behavior is behavior directed towards society, or taking place between, members of the same species. Behavior such as predation which involves members of different species is not social...

 has brought, he or she becomes conducive to change learning

Learning

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...

 new behavioral models, patterns, approaches, and ways. These models and patterns form the basis for new mental actions that ensure better communications in daily activities than previously for the student. After learning these new models and patterns of social behavior, they are gradually assimilated and adapted into a person's consciousness

Consciousness

Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...

 and transferred back to his or her unconscious

Unconscious mind

The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...

 impulsive level. Such transformations are accomplished under the direction and influence of the referent group

Reference group

A reference group is a concept referring to a group to which an individual or another group is compared.Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group....

 and trainer.

Forms of Communication Skills Training

Among Communication Skills Training

Communications Training

Communications training develops necessary skills for individuals to be effective in business. Effective communication is vital for the success of personal interactions and for organizational communication. Communication skills are particular to various situations...

 (CST) programs there are:

• partner style communications programs,
• conflict control
  Emotional conflict
  "Emotional conflicts and the intervention of the unconscious are the classical features of...medical psychology" for C. G. Jung. Equally, 'Freud's concept of emotional conflict as amplified by Anna Freud...Erikson and others is central in contemporary theories of mental disorder in children,...
  
   programs,
• conducting business discussions
  Debate
  Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
  
   programs, and
• public presentation
  Presentation
  Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
  
   programs, along with others.

Process and structure of CST

The standard sequence of Group CST consists of four phases:

1. "Warming-up" the group to the working level and implementing group norms
   Norm (philosophy)
   Norms are concepts of practical import, oriented to effecting an action, rather than conceptual abstractions that describe, explain, and express. Normative sentences imply “ought-to” types of statements and assertions, in distinction to sentences that provide “is” types of statements and assertions...
   
    and standards;
2. Objectifying and creating conditions in which the person becomes more sensitive
   Sensitivity (human)
   The sensitivity or insensitivity of a human, often considered with regard to a particular kind of stimulus, is the strength of the feeling it results in, in comparison with the strength of the stimulus...
   
    to the opinions and actions of referent group members who facilitate the change to new and more reflexive behaviors;
3. Implementing and learning new social behavioral techniques;
4. Participating in role-playing game
   Role-playing game
   A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
   
   s, group discussions and public presentations that demonstrate and enforce the positive effects of the change and the training.

Methods, means and techniques of CST

The basic means of Group CST are conducting role-playing games, discussions and exercises in groups of two and three. Each participant makes his or her own analysis of the group member's behavior and provides feedback to the others.

Both verbal reactions and the playback of video or audio records of nonverbal

Body language

Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....

 reactions (e.g. motions, gestures, poses, mimics, and eye contact, voice and speech patterns) are used as the means of feedback. Such techniques are utilized for the following applications:

• Establishing personal contact,
• Active listening
  Active listening
  Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what they hear. The ability to listen actively can improve personal relationships through reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, and fostering understanding.When interacting,...
  
  ,
• Reducing emotional tensions with the partner,
• Defending one's opinion, position, or point of view,
• Discussing organization and administration,
• Public presentations
  Rhetoric
  Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
  
  .

The main methods that are used for objectification and creating positive behavioral change are:

• Group analysis of the participant's behavior in the role-playing games with hidden motive and/or conflict
  Conflict resolution
  Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
  
   embedded in it; analysis of discussions with distributed roles, which minimizes self interest and leads to the development of joint solutions; and analysis of public presentations.
• Analysis of playbacks of recorded role-playing games, discussions, and presentations.

The Group in CST

The basic medium for the CST is a small group

Small group learning

Small group learning is a useful educational approach. The group work has to be carefully planned and frequently requires a facilitator to ensure group progress. In addition the group function and the learning that takes place needs to be assessed and evaluated. The material learned is just as...

. For this very reason sometimes this kind of learning is named "Social Psychological Training". The best size for this group learning is 8–12 people.

The Trainer's Work – Rules and Behavior

Usually each trainer (mediator

Mediation

Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...

, facilitator) includes his or her own components and techniques in the educational process.

The primary goals of Group CST trainers are:

• Creating the social environmental conditions that facilitate improved behavior of each group member.
• Aiding in learning and mastering the new techniques and tactics of behavior.

As such, the trainer organizes group work in a way which motivates each participant to consider and accept a wider spectrum of positive daily life models, patterns and communication. It provides an opportunity for each group member to come to his or her own conclusion on his or her past and future behavioral responses

Stimulus (psychology)

In psychology, stimuli are energy patterns which are registered by the senses. In behaviorism and related stimulus–response theories, stimuli constitute the basis for behavior, whereas in perceptual psychology they constitute the basis for perception.In the second half of the 19th century, the...

. In order to reach this state of mind in a group member's consciousness the trainer must adhere to the following principles:

• Predominance of the process of learning above the results,
• Organization of learning in a manner where every participant utilizes the feedback, obtained from other members and from the video/audio sources,
• Step-by-step technique training during the learning (i.e. no one "jumps over" or skips a stage of the process that proceeds gradually from the simple to more complex),
• Individual approach to each participant based on and solidified by the support of the group,
• Mediated influence of the group members towards each other – initiated and encouraged by the facilitator unnoticeably, indirectly, but constantly and consecutively.